What We're Reading

Montgomery Co. Council committee mulls $15 minimum wage
Kate Ryan, WTOP, July 18, 2016
Montgomery County Council members want to know: What would happen if the county went ahead and enacted a $15 an hour minimum wage? At a Health and Human Services Committee work session on Monday, it became clear getting an answer would be a challenge
photo: Metro Council ally Jews United for Justice at a MontCo Council hearing last month; photo courtesy JUFJ Facebook page.

Baltimore City Council divided over $15 minimum wage
Andrew Dunn, Baltimore Sun, July 17, 2016
Baltimore City Council members plan to begin work this week on legislation that would rapidly increase the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour — a proposal that has drawn heavy criticism from city agencies, economists and businesses. Council members are split on the measure, which would increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2020. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has not formally opposed the bill, but the city's Finance Department estimated it would cost the city more than $150 million over the next five years, and push the unemployment rate as high as 10.6 percent.

---